Brian Vail, President
Brian Vail is President and owner of River West Investments, a real estate management and investment firm. As President, Mr. Vail is responsible for the development, construction and acquisition activities of River West Investments, with a current land supply capable of supporting the development of over 19,000 acres and 57,000 residential lots in key markets throughout Northern and Central California, Southern Nevada and Hawaii.

Since Mr. Vail’s acquisition of the company in 1999, River West has emerged as a leader in innovative environmentally sensitive and sustainable master planned communities by showcasing energy-efficient homes and by preserving and mitigating over 5,000 acres of environmentally sensitive lands. River West Investments has further demonstrated its environmental commitment with the planting of more than 40,000 trees and the dedication of more than 700 acre of parklands and open spaces. River West has shown that California can grow while being respectful of the environment by creating more than 28,000 local area jobs within or in proximity to their communities. Under Mr. Vail’s leadership, the company has managed over $1 billion in public infrastructure projects, planned and built communities with over 30,000 residential lots on more than 15,000 acres and grossed more than $600 million in sales revenues.

In addition to Mr. Vail’s development of master plan communities, he is currently partnering with a public solar renewable energy provider on 5 utility scale solar projects throughout California. These projects range from 150 acres to 1,500 acres and in total represent approximately 500MW with a total construction cost in excess of $2 billion.

Mr. Vail is an active entrepreneur and member of the community. He currently is on the Board of the Sacramento Diocese and was on the Board of Directors for the University of Sacramento as well as the Crocker Art Museum of Sacramento. Mr. Vail supports numerous charitable organizations and was recently honored for his participation in an $8 Million land donation to UC Davis Health Systems, the single largest private donation received by the heath system.

In addition to his real estate development ventures, Mr. Vail was the executive producer of the film Touching Home starring Ed Harris. He is the principal investor in the Berkley startup company, IQ Engines, which was recently acquired by Yahoo. He owns two ski resort restaurants in Lake Tahoe and is a partner in Napa Valley winery.

Mr. Vail earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Technology at California Poly Technical State University (1986).

Michael Walker, CPA, Chief Financial Officer
As Chief Financial Officer, Mike is responsible for all the accounting and financial activities of the company. Mike coordinates with financial institutions to obtain financing, as needed, for projects and with the various parties to the transactions to ensure that the land purchases and sales are executed on a timely basis.

Mike is responsible for the completion of all tax returns and tax planning for River West Investments and the various partnerships managed by the company.

Previous to coming to the company, Mike was the Controller for AKT Development Corporation, one of the largest developers of residential land in Northern California. He also served as a senior auditor for the international accounting firm of KPMG and for nine years served in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Mike graduated Cum Laude from California State University, Sacramento with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (Accountancy).

Bret Hogge, Land Use Manager
Bret is responsible for managing the land entitlements for projects in North Natomas, Elverta, Rocklin, Rancho Murieta and Yuba County. Bret works closely with City and County Planners and Engineers to coordinate the entitlement approvals. Key to the entitlement and land development success is informing and resolving neighborhood concerns; Bret gets the neighbors involved early in the planning process by meeting with them in their homes and community meetings.

Before joining River West Investments, Bret was a development manager for a major commercial general contractor in Sacramento responsible for overseeing all building permits, code compliance and entitlements for new buildings and tenant improvements. Bret has 14 years experience in construction and development in Sacramento.

Bret received his education in Conservation Biology from Brigham Young University. He continues his education in construction and development with classes and seminars at UC Davis and Consumnes River College.

Vanessa Scrivner-Dietl, Executive Assistant & Office Manager
A new addition to River West in 2007, Vanessa has a dual role as the Office Manager and the Executive Administrative Assistant to President Brian Vail. Vanessa graduated from MTI Business College and brings over 15 years of administrative and office management experience to River West.